Leadership through nature at the Hanifl

01 Dec Leadership through nature at the Hanifl

In November, 39 students from Mira Model School, Delhi, got the experience that will last a lifetime courtesy of the Hanifl Centre. They were as Woodstock’s own hub for outdoor and environmental education for a three day immersive programme.

They learnt practical skills for outdoor adventure, such as pitching tents and abseiling, as well as discovering and experiencing the Himalayan environment, with talks on geography, flora and fauna. Activities included in the programme included climbing the wire ladder, team-building activities in the Hanifl campground, trash collection, rock-climbing in the Win Mumby Gym climbing wall, a tour of the Turner Organic Garden, and hike to Flag Hill conservation area.

One of the students to participate, Shefali, describes how powerful an experience the course was.

“Going with the perception of just having fun and coming back with my whole life reshaped was something I never thought is going to happen. I never believed in people saying how a single trip can change your life, but once I came back from Hanifl I actually lived those words. From being a person who was very arrogant to a person who started finding tranquillity and meaning in each and every thing I do in my life is way beyond something I can put into words.

“When people ask about my experience, I fall short of words and sometimes fear that they might not be able to understand what I fell like. Coming back to Delhi and not waking up to an amazing day and to a day that will change me everyday, made me feel like staying there forever. But then what’s the point if those changes will last only till the trip lasts. The changes that brings out something proficient in you should never be bygone. What I got is a zeal to make an ordinary day look like an amazing one to me maybe not by having a mountain everyday to trek on or a night walk in between a forest but simply by living in every moment and taking points on every small thing I do in my life.

“I learnt to question everything I do by “why”, if what you’re doing gives you the inner satisfaction and a new experience to life, don’t ever stop for any reason. You never know how small things can give you the biggest learning of your life. Hanifl maybe just an adventurous and a trekking trip for others, but for me it was the trip of my life. Surely, Hanifl was a life changing experience for me.”